Acid and Pepsin Dose-Response Studies to Insulin Hypoglycaemia in a Healthy Man

Abstract

The relationship between the secretion of acid and pepsin and degree of hypoglycaemia has been studied in response to five doses of insulin (0.0125–0.2 U/kg) given by intravenous injection in a healthy man. Two tests were carried out at each dose. Both peak acid aoutput (PAO_I) and peak pepsin output (PPO_I) increased with the logarithm of the dose of insulin up to 0.2 U/kg. There was a significant inverse correlation between the lowest blood glucose attained and both PAO_I (r = -0.81, p < 0.01) and PPO_I (r = -0.77, p < 0.01). Acid and pepsin output increased in parallel in relation to both the dose of insulin and the degree of hypoglycaemia. The relationship between pepsin I and total pepsin was constant for all levels of acid secretion. Inhibition of secretion was not observed with the lowest levels of hypoglycaemia attained. In health, insulin hypoglycaemia provides a quantitative glycopenic stimulus which produces a quantitative and parallel response for both acid and pepsin.